More Than Friendly
by ArchivistGardener
Summary: Alice Selwyn: I've been feeling a little strange around Frank Longbottom lately, and it's starting to drive me crazy. Is it normal to get goosebumps when you "accidentally" hold hands with your best friend? Seventh year romance btwn Frank and Alice...
1. Chapter 1

**I am not J. K. Rowling and do not claim her characters, plot lines, etc. for my own. No lawsuit please.**

Frank Longbottom and I have got to have the weirdest relationship in this entire castle.

I take that back; Lily Evans and Severus Snape do. It's been two years since that incident when he called her "the m-word" and I can still see him throwing glances her way even when he's following Avery around. The weird part about their relationship is that they used to be friends but now they're not. He still cares for her – messed up I know, but I don't know how he works – while she pities him to death though she maintains that he chose his path. Poor girl.

Wait, maybe Lily and James Potter are stranger. After all, they're either shouting or looking longingly at each other. They're the cutest couple; well, if they were a couple. Right now they're in the "tentative friends" stage, which comes after years of James's heckling Lily to go out with him. I'm betting they'll be together by the end of the year myself. Remus Lupin disagrees with me, but hey, he's just a guy!

Any road, me and Frank. Our relationship began in third year. I'd had a crush on him all through second but I didn't have the guts the sorting hat put me in Gryffindor for. So, I never told him. I did, however, tell Mary MacDonald, another Gryffindor girl in my year and a good friend, who told Lily. Subsequently, they told Frank. Great friends, huh?

It gets better.

Frank liked me too evidently. So he writes me this great note after having his confidence boosted by my two best mates which declared his love for me and how he knows I've never dated before but that he knows that I like him so I should take a chance. He wrote a whole foot of parchment – in small handwriting, mind – about how he loves me and wants me to be his "girlfriend."

At first I was really happy and excited. I mean, I hadn't been expecting a love letter with the morning post and copy of the daily prophet, which I really don't read. Come on, I'm average; maybe a little pudgy but not heavy. I just don't have my cousin's great figure; I didn't get the Meadows genes. So, my point is that when I got a roll of parchment from the guy of my dreams I went through several stages.

Jitteriness and goofy grins.

Extreme happiness and wider grins.

Confusion.

Depression.

I had absolutely no clue what to do. I was a short little third year with absolutely no love life experience and I was nearly in tears over a very poetic letter from Frank Longbottom. Honestly, I think I just had commitment issues, but all of a sudden I was having horrific thoughts about what would 

happen to my friends, his friends, who would I hang out with, how would I act around him, what did it mean to be his "girlfriend?" Like I said, I was a thirteen year old with no experience.

And at that age, the way he phrased "girlfriend," which I could never think of except in quotes or italics, made me feel like he was proposing marriage. That scared the crap out of me.

So, third year continued and I asked him to wait a little because I wasn't sure. What kind of thirteen year old girl is immature enough to say that? His response was to follow me around and act like we were dating which I didn't like too much.

Consequently, I had said no by the end of the year on the grounds that he was possessive and not my type.

I thought it would be the end of our relationship honestly, but I guess not. I mean we're in the same year at school and the same house. It wasn't like we could avoid each other all the time. At first I wanted to avoid him. I didn't really know how he'd act around me so my master plan was to evade talking to him at all with the help of Lily and Mary, who, though supportive of my decision to not date Frank, rolled their eyes at me and my elaborate schemes frequently.

For the last couple of weeks of the term, everything went as I had predicted. Frank and I stayed away from each other like the plague. It seemed we had some sort of mutual unspoken agreement. I didn't hate him, that wasn't why I wasn't speaking to him. I just felt really uncomfortable around him. For his part, I have no idea why he didn't attempt to talk to me. Maybe he felt uncomfortable too, or maybe his male pride was getting in the way. I'm not sure I really cared.

By fifth year we were on speaking terms again. I mean we were both older and wiser and could handle each other. We could actually have a conversation without stuttering or blushing. Well, I suppose that's more what I was doing. He had just been fidgety.

In sixth year, our relationship was a little strained. He got a girlfriend. Okay, not a shocker, but he had declared his undying love for me! What Mary thought was weird was that I had trouble talking to him now that he was dating some Ravenclaw girl: Stella. I think Lily understood. She never said anything but she would give me those looks that made me think she knew how to perform occlumency. Mary was completely convinced that I had been over Frank for years; so was I. But then here I was feeling, not jealous as my cousin Dorcas hinted constantly in her letters, but simply awkward.

Everything felt different because I couldn't always talk to him during a quidditch match and get him to explain what was going on because half the time he was sitting in the Ravenclaw section. I found it more difficult to just talk to him in the hallway because Stella was always on his arm, around his waist, or right next to him. There are just some things you can't say in front of your best friend's significant other.

That's the other interesting part of our relationship. We became best friends. We would do our homework together most of the time and Lily usually joined us because she knew that neither of us 

weren't that great in Potions. Frank and I had that in common: we were generally good at everything, but we weren't as spectacular as Lily was in Potions or as James was in Transfiguration.

Anyway, I tried to continue being Frank's friend because by then I honestly liked him as a person. He's sweet, funny, considerate, charming, brave, smart, and nice. Maybe that's strange to say about your best friend but it was how I thought of him: my great guy friend. Stella tended to get in the way though. I mean she was really cool but she was always distracting either me or Frank when we were hanging out. Either Frank was absentmindedly looking at her or touching her hand or I was comparing myself to her, which happened even when she wasn't around.

Stella Varice had silky blonde hair and big blue eyes that made her look slightly out of it a lot of the time. She had this air of always being in shock, but for some reason it just made her adorable. And she was skinny. Well, skinnier than me. I mean, the Selwyns are not known for build or body shape. For example, where Stella was tall and willowy, I would describe myself – Alice Selwyn – as a little on the petite side but filled out and average. On the whole, Stella beat me in every category so I struggled with liking her because she was my best friend's girlfriend and disliking her because she looked better than I did.

At the end of sixth year, I was extremely frustrated and was quickly leaning toward hating Stella – mostly because I could never have a proper conversation with Frank. It was right after exams that Frank told me he had broken up with Stella.

I had plopped myself down on one of the couches in the common room, ready to forget all about the charms final I was sure I hadn't done as well on as I should have, when I felt the fabric sink even more. It was too heavy to be Lily or Mary, and I knew for a fact that the marauders – James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter as they had dubbed themselves in third year – were out by the lake trying to tickle the giant squid…again. I looked around half expecting to see Frank; I wasn't disappointed.

"Hey." His sigh was heavy, and it rivaled my own.

"Hey yourself." I rolled my head back and closed my eyes. "How do you think you did in charms?"

"Not bad. I just barely finished the last question about the differences between charms used on humans and those used on inanimate objects." His tone of voice as well as his answer told me clearly that the final was not the reason for the hefty sigh. Since I had him alone in the common room I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to talk with him candidly.

"So then what's up?" I hadn't opened my eyes to ask; not only was I too tired to attempt it, but I also didn't feel comfortable looking him in the eye when it might be an issue with Stella.

"I broke up with Stella," he said bluntly. I wasn't too surprised; they had been growing more distant over the past couple of weeks but I was still sorry for him.

"I'm so sorry," I said as I touched his shoulder. "Why? And wait – when?!"

"I don't know. She was a little possessive," I desperately wanted to roll my eyes or snort, "and we just stopped liking each other really."

"Oh," I didn't really know how to respond to the last part. "And when was this?"

"Just now," he muttered as he fiddled with his ear.

"You mean you broke up with her after an exam?!" I don't know why, but I felt liberated since he wasn't dating her anymore. I also felt the need to stick up for her in some small way; don't ask, I have the strangest compulsions. Lily thinks that I'm too nice sometimes.

"Well, she sort of broke up with me too," Frank almost whined. "It was mutual!"

"Oh," I breathed for the second time in ten seconds.

"Yeah," he said at me as if waiting for my response.

"That's not that bad then I suppose…"

"Yeah," he repeated before dropping his head back and closing his eyes.

And we were back to being best friends. Like I say, we have one of the weirdest relationships in this whole castle.


	2. Chapter 2

**I am not J. K. Rowling and I do not take credit for her characters, etc.**

I looked around at Kings Cross Station as my cousin Dorcas and I walked to the partition between platforms nine and ten. The two of us descended from pureblood families so we always looked like first years getting their first sight of Hogwarts when we were surrounded by blatant muggle-ness.

As fascinated by it as we were, Dorcas and I were more eager to see platform nine and three-quarters. She had taken me through side-along apparition because my own parents were unspeakables at the Ministry and were working on something they couldn't tell me about that morning. All I knew was that I had spent the night with Dorcas in her flat in Diagon Alley and that she would be seeing me onto that scarlet steam engine for the last time. I understood my parents, and I didn't resent them; well, maybe I was a little sad, but they're good people, and I know Mum and Dad love me.

When Dorcas and I walked through the barrier, all other thoughts were swept away by the noise of students, parents, owls, cats, toads, and the chugging of the engine, not to mention the blur of red and the strong arms that were flung around me.

I looked over Lily's black robed shoulder to see Dorcas laughing into her fist while Lily rocked back and forth.

"Alice!" I released my trunk, which landed on Dorcas' foot, as I reached to hug Lily. Looking at my cousin, again over my friend's shoulder, I mouthed "sorry." Dorcas only rolled her eyes and smiled. "I missed you so much," Lily continued effervescently, "And I couldn't write to tell you…" Here Lily broke off excitedly before turning very serious, as only Lily could do. She tucked her hair behind her ear and straightened her robes. Something shiny on them caught my eye. And I realized that the letter wasn't "P," but rather two letters – "HG."

"Oh my gosh!" I said very loudly, and grimaced as several people turned their heads sharply to look at us. "You got Head Girl! How could you not! Oh Lily, this is great! I am so proud. It would be no one else!" I clapped my hands happily and grinned widely. I just couldn't help being happy for her. She deserved it. She really did. It's part of why we're such good friends. "Oh this is so awesome!" I beamed at the gleaming badge pinned proudly to her uniform. "So, who's Head Boy?" I asked and started scanning the crowd anxiously. "Is it Remus? He was a prefect."

"I don't know," Lily replied as she too started to look through the crowd. "Maybe though. But it could be that Goldstein kid from Ravenclaw you know."

"Dumbledore wouldn't make a Slytherin Head Boy would he?" I heard a mellow voice from behind us ask.

"Mary!" Lily and I spotted our friend and engulfed her in a very large hug. I could tell the Slytherin comment sort of got to Lily but she seemed to glide right over it and if she wasn't going to make a big deal out of it, neither was I.

"Yeah, hey guys, I missed you too." Mary extricated herself from us and pushed her hair out of her face. "Oh hey Dorcas!"

"Hi Mary, Lily."

"Hey Dorcas, how was auror training?"

"Not bad, Moody's one tough old bat though. He's as mad as they say, but he's alright." My attention drifted as Dorcas went into detail about all of the tests she had to take and what was involved with Lily, who I suspected wanted to be an auror after school. She certainly had the marks for it. I was scanning the crowd again, but I wasn't really sure for what.

Standing a good space away were the Marauders. Sirius and Remus were having a heated discussion and clutching a piece of paper while Peter looked on hopelessly. James, however, seemed quite odd. He was fingering a patch on his robes nervously and constantly correcting his posture. Finally, he removed his hand to grab the parchment from Sirius and I saw the glistening Head Boy badge pinned to his chest. Already dreaming about the possibilities with Lily, I smiled to myself but decided not to mention it just yet.

"Oi, Alice!" I spun around, and instead of seeing Lily and Mary looking at me expectantly, I saw Frank.

He was standing near the barrier next to his Mom, whose very air of severity scared me. I would have been content with just waving and pretending I was deeply interested in Dorcas' explanation except that _he_ was waving for _me_ to come over, and how could I say no to my recently re-acquired best friend.

"Hi Mrs. Longbottom…"

Mrs. Longbottom sniffed. Frank smiled.

"Mother, you remember Alice Selwyn?"

How could she not know me? First of all, we're both from all wizarding families, so we generally know each other pretty well. I know that sounds a little snobbish, but it happens to be true in a perverted sort of way. Sort of like how I know all of Sirius' family, even though I really hate them. I just know them. Secondly, Frank had already introduced us at the end of last year. Either way, I guess he was just being a gentleman. As corny as it sounds, his mum raised him to be a great wizard and a great gentleman, and heaven forbid if he forget it.

"Yes, I do. It's lovely to see you again, dear."

"Thanks, you too, ma'am."

I felt extremely awkward just standing there next to Frank waiting for someone else to say something. The seconds were creeping by agonizingly slow: two…three…four…five…six….

Somebody, please say something…

And then I saw Mrs. Longbottom's eyes go wide, which looks extremely strange on Augusta Longbottom, let me tell you. At first, I didn't get what she was staring at. I turned my head left and saw only my friends and cousin hugging each other. I crooked my head a little more and saw a group of Slytherins sweeping haughtily onto the train. Surely this woman wasn't surprised over Slytherins? I twisted my head to the right and saw Frank's face.

Now why was he all bug-eyed? Did I have something on my face? Had one of the Slytherins hexed me without my knowing it? Was that even possible?

Deciding I should try to end the "moment," I reached for my face with my right hand.

The only thing was that my hand was already occupied: it was loosely holding the hand of my best friend, Frank Longbottom, not: my boyfriend, Frank, or my crush, Frank, but my best friend, Frank.

I could feel heat rising in my cheeks as I hastily pulled my hand away from his and looked anywhere but at their faces. I didn't even want to know what was going through Augusta's mind right now, much less Frank's. Of course I might find that out eventually if he wanted to talk about it; he could be pretty stubborn. On the other hand, he could also be very shy, and I was privately hoping for that latter feeling that might save me the further embarrassment of explaining something I couldn't. Honestly, how could I explain what I had done, when I hadn't known I had done it?

"Right, well, it was very nice to see you again, Mrs. Longbottom," I said as I backed away. "And I'll see you around, Frank, yeah?"

I left before I could even hear their responses.

"You've been really quiet, Alice," Mary said as she slid the door shut after the food trolley and carried her purchases to the empty seats. At the moment, the compartment was blissfully and mostly empty as it held only Mary and me. Lily was undoubtedly patrolling the corridors with James.

"Sorry."

"No need to apologize, I was just wondering what's up."

"Nothing much," I muttered, which Mary only shrugged at as she bit into a cauldron cake.

Nothing much was definitely not the way I would have described my situation at that moment. There was the possibility that I was blowing this whole thing way out of proportion. What's wrong with holding hands with your best friend? Even if he is a guy? Even if he is a guy you used to fancy? Really, it wouldn't have been such a big deal if he and his mother hadn't been staring like it was!

That is, it wasn't a big deal apart from the Goosebumps I got when I had finally noticed and the chill I felt when I had dragged my hand away.

But apart from that, yeah, no big deal really.

"…and so I wrote him back and told him that he needed to stop being such a mummy's boy and get rid of his matching giraffe pyjamas and blankie."

"You did what, Mary?!"

"I knew you weren't listening!"

"Obviously I was! What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, just some gump to get your attention."

"Thank goodness. I thought you were talking about Remus for a second." I knew Mary had a crush on Remus, but I sincerely doubted that he had a matching giraffe pyjama and blanket set.

"No," Mary blushed. "But I've given up on him. He's not very open, and I'm not going to spend my life waiting for him to come 'round."

"Oh." I didn't quite know how to respond to that.

"By the way, where's Frank?"

Gooood question.

"No idea, shall I go have a poke around?" As much as I was dreading talking to him about "it," I wanted to just get it over with so we could go back to being friends like normal. The fact that he hadn't even stopped in to say hello was a signal to the abnormality of the situation.

"Oh please don't go and leave me alone!" Mary actually looked frightened.

"Why not, Mary? You're on the Hogwarts Express for crying out loud."

"I know it sounds silly, but I know Avery's just wandering around the train with his cronies and I just don't want to have to fight him alone if he comes." Mary seemed so carefree all of the time that she scared me like this.

"You know you could beat him in a duel, Mary!" Privately, I disagreed with myself. Mary wasn't that great at dueling but I thought that if worse came to worse, she would be able to hold him off with a few well placed jinxes.

Mary didn't look convinced either though, so I sat with her until Lily came back scowling. I left her to rant to Mary about James while I set out to fix whatever I had messed up.


	3. Chapter 3

**I am not J. K. R. **

It was five minutes after I had left my compartment and I still hadn't found Frank. How was that even possible? Huffing, I spun on my heel to scour the train again.

Frank couldn't do this to me. I needed to know what was going on so we could go back to normal.

I mean not that we weren't normal… I hadn't even talked to him yet. I was just assuming. I don't even know how he felt about the whole hand-holding thing. It's not like I snogged him in front of his mum or anything. I wouldn't do _that_. Not that I hadn't thought about it before.

Wait! I'd thought about snogging Frank?

Where had that come from?

I desperately wanted just to bang my head against the wall right then and there, but I don't do things like that. Lily doesn't make it look particularly inviting. It's never exactly cured her of James, now has it? Not that she needs to get rid of him. If only she could see that he's perfect for her. He would sort of balance her out. I'm a firm believer in the whole opposites attract deal. Not that they are entire opposites: they have more in common than Lily would like to admit. They're both incredibly smart, wickedly funny (though they usually display it differently), and extremely loyal to their friends. But they're still opposites, which is why I predict that they will end up together. She's compassionate; James, not so much. She's mature; again, James, not. She follows the rules; James doesn't. So, like I say, opposites attract. Come on, anyone can see the sexual tension between the two. In my humble opinion, they'd soften each other.

I think I'm so convinced that opposites attract because of the non relationship Frank and I had in third year. As I came to find out later, we are very alike. And I'm talking scary similar. We're both law abiding pupils at Hogwarts – compared to the marauders any road. We're both pretty good in school. We both like to read, which isn't that big of a deal, but still. We both think Madam Puddifoots, which opened last year, is sickeningly sappy.

Frank actually took Stella there whenever they were dating, and I couldn't believe it. Mary had to tell me three times because I kept asking her to repeat herself in the Three Broomsticks. I mean, I knew he didn't fancy the place, but then Stella probably did. They went on Valentine's Day too, which means everything was probably pink.

Don't get me wrong, pink is one of my favorite colors because I'm a girl at heart. Too much pink, however, is not a healthy thing.

Any how, Frank and I obviously had too many similarities to be boyfriend and girlfriend. As best friends though, our shared interests are great.

With those thoughts in mind, I finally took my eyes off the wall across from me and began to walk back down the train. I didn't get very far though; a couple of slytherins standing in the middle of the aisle will do that you know.

Avery and MacNair are two pretty twisted people, and apart from being in the same year as them, I don't share anything in common with them. Once, I caught MacNair actually trying to torture the giant squid. I don't mean that he was trying to tickle it; I mean that he had his wand out hexing it. Well, the only hex he actually landed didn't do any damage to the squid; the magnificent beast picked him up with the tentacle he'd attempted to burn and dunked him underwater. That was one of those moments when I wished I'd been made a prefect so that I could dock points from MacNair, but the dunking was just as good in the end.

As for Avery, he seems more clever than MacNair, but in a sick way. I don't think he'd ever waste his time on the giant squid. No, he's more into hurting his own kind, and I don't mean purebloods; I mean humans because he would never hex a pureblood unless he thought the witch or wizard was a blood traitor. He is fine with hurting people like Mary though; she's a muggleborn, like Lily. In fifth year, Avery cornered Mary in the dungeons right before potions and set her clothes on fire. He's really lucky he didn't get expelled, but Slughorn doused Mary with the aguamenti charm before the clothes could hurt her seriously and Madam Pomfrey fixed her up the rest of the way. I only saw what happened as Slughorn stopped the fire, but the scariest part was that the git was laughing his head off, as were a bunch of other slytherins.

So, my seeing Avery and MacNair blocking my path doesn't make me tremble, but I'm sensible enough to be a little scared. You'd be stupid not to be a little frightened of guys like them who are pretty much planning to become death eaters. Not that I was going to show it.

"Selwyn," Avery sneered. I wondered vaguely if he'd learned that from Malfoy, who'd graduated two years ago, or if it was just another slytherin trademark. "How nice to see you out of the company of mu--"

"Avery, MacNair," I interrupted. I didn't want to start a fight when I was so outnumbered. Plus the not fighting thing comes with being a model pupil. And then there's the fact that these guys aren't worth my time. I'd be singing a different tune if they had their wands out though. "Have a good summer?" I asked sweetly. I know it isn't the conventional question to ask rising death eaters, but I don't want to get hexed at the moment.

"Pleasantly pure," MacNair growled. I rolled my eyes minutely and hoped that neither of them had noticed. For a seventh year, he's not the brightest star on the astronomy chart if you know what I mean. Who comes up with lame replies like that? Obviously MacNair does. Besides, MacNair's not even a pureblood. Not that I really care either way, but the irony is too blatant to miss.

"Sounds lovely."

"What are you saying, Selwyn?" Avery asked pointedly, and I noticed that his hand moved ever so slightly to the right pocket of his robes.

"Absolutely nothing." Yeah, I'll insult them all I want in my head but I'm not about to do that to their faces. Maybe the sorting hat should have put me in Ravenclaw: I think I'm smart enough when it comes to knowing when not to talk.

"Don't get smart with us, Selwyn," MacNair butted in. What is it with slytherins and only using surnames? "Be careful or the riff-raff you hang out with will rub off on you. You wouldn't want to be tainted, would you?"

Before I could think of an appropriate response, Avery laughed. The sound made Goosebumps go up my arms, but not the good kind.

"I don't know, I think she's too far gone already. She can't be cured now."

"Fine with me," I spat at them as I unconsciously reached for my wand. "I don't want to be cured to be like you lot."

"Careful, Selwyn," Avery jeered. "You don't want to get hurt, do you?"

"Do _you_?" I knew it was an obvious threat, but what else could I say? At the moment, nothing else seemed appropriate; the Gryffindor in me was coming out.

In a flash, all three wands were out in the open. Avery and MacNair had theirs aimed at my head; I was pointing mine somewhere in between the two.

Reducto.

No, definitely a good boils hex.

Reducto.

Bat-bogey, of course!

Reducto!

"What's going on here?"

**Dun dun dunnnnn…..**


	4. Chapter 4

**I am not J. K. Rowling. I just don't have the imagination she does. That's why it's called fanfiction….**

_"What's going on here?"_

I knew better than to turn around to see who it was; these two play far too dirty to not take advantage of such an opportunity. Besides, I knew it was Frank. His voice is pretty distinct even if there's no real way to describe it. Right now, it sounded pretty authoritative, for which I was grateful.

"Longbottom, how nice of you to join us," Avery drawled. He was definitely taking lessons from Lucius Malfoy. "We were just having a friendly chat with your _little_ friend."

I ignored the jibe that might have made me turn purple moments ago. Sometimes I can be sensitive about my lack of height; I'm not short, but I've always felt I was just beneath average by too much. I wasn't going to be so easily provoked. Now that Frank was on the scene, I was no longer outnumbered. The fact that Frank had excellent marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts was a reassurance in itself, not to mention that he was just taller than MacNair, the muscle of the pair.

"And they were just leaving," I attempted to say evenly. I did for the most part. My left hand was shaking just a tad, but I don't think any of them noticed. I sincerely hoped that I'd never have to use my left hand in a battle. "Weren't you?" I cocked an eyebrow at them and gold sparks shot out of my wand threateningly.

"We're not afraid of you, blood-traitor," MacNair hissed. Avery smirked. It felt like my face just shut down of all emotion. It's people like these two that make the world difficult to live in. They're the ones that make kids hate each other because of their ancestry. They're a part of the evil that makes us leave behind our innocence to fight for what should be ours naturally.

By the way, I want to be an auror after I finish at Hogwarts. Was it completely obvious?

"Maybe you should be," I hissed right back. I felt cool and in control. If they weren't careful, I would lose it.

"Is that a threat," Avery paused, "_blood-traitor?_"

"To which one of us are you referring, Avery?" Frank cut in lightly, and I noticed for the first time that his wand was out and menacingly close to MacNair's face. Taking his cue, I shifted mine so it was more focused on Avery, who was now sneering at Frank.

"Proud of it, are you, Longbottom?"

"Extremely at the moment," he continued just as flippantly as he had been before. His stance, I noticed however, was strong and prepared. Oh man, was I glad he had decided to show up.

"You won't be this time next year," Avery replied. His eyes briefly flicked to my wand, steadily focused on his chest.

"And why is that?"

"Curious, Selwyn?" Avery chuckled cruelly. "If you must know, it's because next year you won't be under the protection of this useless school. And then we'll see who's proud."

"We will, won't we?" I snapped back, losing my patience with this endless snide banter. Out of the corner of my eye I could see MacNair grinning sadistically. I also noticed him raise his wand.

"PROTEGO!" The invisible magic shield erupted from my wand and spread in front of me and Frank as the curse MacNair had uttered ricocheted off the barrier and hit Avery square in the face. I watched torn between disgust and laughter as rough, wiry black hairs sprouted all over his face. His face looked like it was turning into that of a spider or something equally repulsive. MacNair was trying to help him up and down the train to their compartment, but Avery kept slapping his mate's hands away and yelling at him.

Finally they shut themselves in a compartment and the colorful cursing of Avery was somewhat muted. I love that move; it was perfect. If a professor ever walks in on such a scene, I can always claim self-defense.

"Gits," I heard Frank murmur beside me.

"Yep," I replied as I tucked my wand back in my pocket. "Thanks for showing up by the way." I really was grateful. I mean, I know he didn't hex them, but he's like a bulwark. He's just there and I feel like I can do anything. Cheesey right? Well, I've got news, that's what best friends are for.

"You're welcome; I was just coming back from the marauders' compartment." I felt my eyebrows twitch together as I thought about that. I thought for sure I had checked in there. Was Frank blushing? No, his cheeks were just pink from the heat. Still, I was sure I had asked James if he had seen Frank.

"But I checked their compartment," I said agitatedly. I hate it when I can't figure things out. Everything has to make sense for me. "I asked James."

"Oh well," I heard Frank say as I wracked my brain. "Why were you looking for me anyway?"

Oh yes, that. Well, that was one thing I suppose I could thank Avery and MacNair for – taking my mind off of this mess. Seriously, how do you apologize to your best friend for holding his hand? How was I supposed to even bring that up: oh yeah, Frank. I just wanted to talk about that thing I did on the platform in front of your mum I did without realizing it. Yeah, that sounds real mature.

"Um, well," I couldn't seem to get myself together. It was like third year all over again. That is, it was like third year all over again except for the fact that I don't have a crush on Frank at the moment like I did then. "What I mean is…um…I'm…this is so weird!" I felt like slapping myself, if not just to get myself to shut up.

"Sorry?" I heard Frank ask. I looked up at him and noticed that he was avoiding my eyes. He was avoiding looking at me at all for that matter. Fine, if he was going to be that way, I would sort it out. 

I took a deep breath and then exhaled. There was only one way to go about this without ruining our friendship, which I wasn't going to lose over something I didn't even know I was doing.

"I'm sorry, Frank," I said clearly as I gazed steadily at a point somewhere just past his right ear.

For a moment, neither of us said a word. I was waiting for him to respond; I don't know what he was waiting for. I was terrified that he would just go all weird on me and refuse to talk to me. Of course I was being irrational. Who would do that anyway?

To my extreme relief, I heard Frank let out a sigh that made my bangs tickle my forehead as they fluttered. I felt a little like giggling, but somehow it just didn't feel like a moment for giggling. I continued quickly since Frank still wasn't talking.

"I really didn't mean to do it, I promise. I don't know how it happened," I babbled. "It was just sort of an accident. I'm sooo sorry! Please don't let this ruin our friendship, please?" I looked at him with my hands together in supplication.

"Geez, Alice, it's not that big of a deal." If you say so, Frank, I thought to myself. "You're still my best mate you know."

"Sweet!" Frank rolled his eyes at me, but I honestly didn't care.

I had to admit though as we stood there beaming at each other what had really happened. No matter what he said, I had made a big deal out of it, so what did that mean? I certainly didn't know. And then there's the little catch that I think he had been hiding from me, which the marauders would probably be adept at helping him with. Come on, why would you avoid someone if it wasn't a big deal? I was obviously missing something. Even so, I was extremely happy though that we were ok. I mean, I was not happy when we were separated because of Stella and it's ten times worse when it's because of me.

He was saying something to me now about going back to our compartment and I just smiled at him. I vaguely registered him grinning back a little uncertainly.

"I wonder when the first Hogsmeade weekend is?" I finally heard him ask as we reached the compartment.

"We could always ask Lily," I shrugged and tried to beat my mind back into a more normal groove of conversation. "She's bound to know as head girl."

"Yeah, you know James is head boy right?"

"Lily mentioned something like that."

"This year is certainly going to be interesting, eh?"

"Yeah…" What I had thought of as very affirmative sounding came out strangled and breathy.

Instead of opening the compartment door as he looked like he was about to do, Frank turned to me.

"You're ok, right Alice?" I simply smiled. My best friend: sweetest guy in the world and I had almost messed it up without realizing it.

"Yeah I'm great," I said and then grinned playfully. "Up for a bit of matchmaking, Frank?"

I watched as a grin identical to mine spread across his face; we're not up to the level of the marauders but we've got some mischief in us.

"Why not…"

**Hey guys, so let me know what you think if you want. **


	5. Chapter 5

**I am not J. K. Rowling. I do not claim her characters, plot lines, etc. **

**Hey y'all, sorry it took me so long to get around to this chapter!**

"Oi, Alice!"

I smiled as I recognized the voice behind me. I always grinned when I heard his voice. It was like my heart started beating faster, and my lips curved into that shape of their own accord. I don't really know what it is about him. I mean, I can't even see him when he's shouting my name from a couple meters back. But the thought of him calling out to me when I'm talking to Frank and Lily when he could be talking to that girl seeker on his quidditch team makes me feel amazingly special.

Jacob Bones: Hufflepuff keeper, great defense student, brother of my good acquaintance Amelia – great girl, really. He looks like a gentleman pretty much. There's just no other way to put it. He's got blonde hair, blue eyes, great smile, nice build, good posture… I mean, he's not the James and Sirius type of good looking – sexy, messy, cute, disheveled, but in James's case, still, um, just good. Sirius almost falls into the "bad boy" category, even if he is the Gryffindor rebel of his Slytherin family. Jacob's more in the category of handsome, like Remus Lupin…and I supposed Frank.

Anyway, Jacob, he's pretty awesome actually. The fact that he's paying attention to me and not Lily or Elizabeth – the Hufflepuff seeker – is something that makes me feel wanted and pretty and desirable. Because as far as these things go, I am average. I mean, come on, Frank never barked up that tree did he? For that matter, I've always been a little miffed that Sirius never did either since he's the womanizer in my year…maybe I just don't come across as that kind of girl. I certainly hope so though, because I'm not!

"Hey." I was trying to come off as cool and collected even if my knees felt a little wobbly.

"Hi." He just stood there in the middle of the hallway not going anywhere. I was fine with that. I would be content to stay out here with him until lunch was through; that's where Lily, Frank, and I had been headed. My two friends, however, didn't seem to get the message that I would want to speak with him alone.

After a couple of seconds of quasi-silence and shuffling feet, Lily jerked out of her trance with a chagrined "oops, bye" and skipped merrily off to lunch while muttering about sitting with James. I instantly forgave her since it seemed she really had been distracted and since she had left in due course, not to mention, she was warming up to "James." Since when did she call him "James" anyway?

Frank seemed to be a different story.

He stood there making small talk with me and Jacob casually: about Herbology, about Filch, about quidditch, about Slughorn. It would have been absolutely infuriating had I not been so nervous.

As it was, Frank's oddly insensitive and oblivious actions were giving me time to consider Jacob. I had three guesses about why he was talking to me. The first one was a little bit too hopeful I thought 

since we'd never really had that much interaction before though we had been in the same group a couple of times in double herbology.

He could be about to ask me to go to Hogsmeade with him. The first trip was coming up after all.

By the time Frank and Jacob were cracking up over the marauders' latest prank, I had moved on from that bit of foolishness.

The second venue seemed much more reasonable to my love-starved mind. He had come over to talk to me. Just to talk, to be my friend a little bit because maybe he did like me just a smidgen. Maybe by the time the next Hogsmeade visit came around…

Deciding that I really did sound desperate, I rolled my eyes. Frank saw and frowned at me. I just shook my head, and he shrugged.

My third possibility was perhaps the most realistic, as well as the most depressing: he had come over to ask for help on homework. He had seemed to be having trouble with the work in herbology today and I _had_ been helping him. That's probably what it was. He would just be asking for help. I got that sometimes when herbology essays came around. It's not that I'm smarter than anyone. I just have an ability to remember some pretty useful things about plants.

Before I could sink deeper into a self-induced depression, his voice lifted me out of it.

"Hey, Alice, can I ask you something?" So it was either option one or three. Unless it was just a casual conversation question, but I didn't think so. There was a definite purpose to the query.

"Sure," I said brightly with a smile. Frank looked pointedly away.

What was his problem? Couldn't he just be the usual good friend he was and leave?

Jacob didn't seem to mind though. His eyes flickered to Frank for the briefest second before coming back to rest on my face. That wasn't a good sign for my Hogsmeade hopes.

"I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me with my herbology essay." I could see Frank roll his eyes in my peripheral vision but I ignored him.

"Sure, no problem." I felt like frowning even though I was smiling widely at perfect Jacob Bones.

"Great," he responded, more enthusiastically than I would have thought. He must be really desperate for help. This time I sensed, rather than saw, Frank roll his eyes. I didn't even bother looking to question him with a face.

"So," I continued, ignoring Frank and attempting casual interest. "When do you want to work on it? It's due next week, right?"

"Yeah, how about Friday night in the library, around seven?"

Friday night?

Ok, so it's not like I had anything better to do Friday night, but isn't that sort of the night people _don't_ do homework? But I wasn't about to turn down a chance to spend time with Jacob Bones, even if we would only be studying.

"Sure, that's great." Jacob's lips twitched into that full smile of his.

"Good, alright, I'll see you then, Alice. Bye, Frank." He waved as he turned and walked into the great hall.

As soon as he was out of sight, I huffed loudly.

"What's wrong?"

Honestly, I'd sort of forgotten that Frank had been standing right there. I'd gotten so caught up in what he was going to ask, and then how to answer it that his presence had simply escaped my attention, which was convenient for him.

"Nothing really, I just wish guys would talk to me about things other than school work."

"I'm a guy," Frank muttered indignantly. "We talk about 'things other than school work.'"

I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, but Frank, _you_ are my best friend. You don't count," I replied as we finally entered the great hall and moved toward the Gryffindor table.

Frank didn't say anything. He wasn't looking at me either. Suddenly I wanted to kick myself. I never think before I speak.

"Oh Frank, I'm sorry! That's not what I meant," I nearly whined as we both sat down on Lily's left. "When I say guys, I mean guys who are more than friends…" I wanted to hurt myself again. Couldn't I just shut up long enough to fix something? Frank, however, was merely looking at me with a cocked eyebrow as he loaded food onto his plate. I bit my lip as he continued to stare at me. I didn't know what else to say. Besides, talking obviously hadn't worked so far.

"It's ok, Alice," he said finally. Thankfully, I hadn't bitten through my lip before he said it. "I understand." He smiled at me and I felt my stomach unclench. When had it even knotted up in the first place?

Before I could say anything else, Lily noticed that I was sitting next to her and ended her conversation with James and Remus.

"So, Alice," she began as she bumped my shoulder. "What did Jacob want?" She grinned at me hopefully.

I sighed. I just couldn't avoid this depression for long, could I?

"Just some help on the herbology essay," I replied in a flat voice.

"Oh." Lily seemed disappointed. Yeah, I knew how she felt.

"On Friday night," Frank interjected meaningfully as he speared some food on his fork.

"Oooh," Lily exclaimed, much more excited this time.

What was the significance of studying on a Friday evening?

"I seeeeee." Why Lily felt the need to extend the vowel in the last word was beyond me.

"What's going on over there?" Sirius burst in. Sirius never has been one to wait. He just makes an entrance no matter what.

"Jacob Bones asked Alice to help him with his herbology essay this Friday night," Lily answered. She now sounded quite pleased with herself.

"Ahaaaa." Sirius grinned widely. "Where is this study session?"

"Um, the library?" I was starting to get really confused. What was the big deal about?

"Not many people in there on Friday nights, are there?" Sirius waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Don't be perverted, Sirius." James leaned across the table and thwacked Sirius upside the head playfully. "We all know Alice just isn't like that."

"Like anything would happen," I nearly shouted angrily. "I'm just helping him with his stupid essay!"

This whole conversation was really frustrating me. Sure, I wanted the whole please-oh-please-help-me-with-my-essay bit be more than that, but it wasn't. That's all guys talk to me about because I'm "just not that kind of girl." I wished everyone would stop making such a big deal out of it when all I wanted to do was wallow in my misery. More than anything though, I wished guys would think of me like that, just a little bit.

"You never know," I heard Sirius wheedling. Before he could continue, I got up, my emotions on edge, and left muttering something about seeing them all in transfiguration.

I walked out of the hall quickly, my bag bouncing on my hip as I ascended the main staircase. I knew I would forgive them later, but right now I just wanted to mope in peace.

"Alice?"

Frank's voice was both inquisitive and reassuring. I could just picture the determined look on his face as thoughts undoubtedly raced through his mind of making me feel better. That's what friends are for, right?

"I'm okay, Frank, really." I stopped at the top of the stairs and waited for him to catch up to me. It didn't take too long.

"Do you want to talk about it?" There it was, that thread of reassurance. His greenish eyes were intent on my own brown ones and I felt like I wanted to cry, and I had no clue why.

So I merely shrugged and started off toward Professor McGonagall's classroom.

"I think you already know everything."

He didn't say anything else but draped his right arm around my shoulders and hugged me to him. I leaned my head gratefully against his sturdy chest – I couldn't quite reach his shoulder. I felt heat pervade my body, but I thought nothing of it. I was too wrapped up in imagining what it would be like to do this with someone other than my best friend.

**So tell me what you think readers! Alice and Jacob will be in the library next chapter…**


	6. Chapter 6

**I am not J. K. Rowling and therefore do not claim her characters, etc.**

**Hi guys, I'm sort of into this story at the moment so I'm trying to update quickly!**

I had never looked forward to going to the library more than I was at that moment, my legs hanging off the side of the plush armchair I was relaxing in. I didn't want to go too early, that seemed pretty pathetic to me, and I didn't want to go late either because I'm just like that. I have this compulsion to be on time no matter what the event is.

Two days after the invite to the study session with Jacob Bones, I found myself in a much better mood than I had been the day of. Eventually, Lily's optimism had rubbed off on me, and I felt that perhaps this could be Jacob's way of getting to know me better; after all, we didn't spend a lot of time together. Of course, I wasn't buying into her idea completely. I had decided that I would keep myself firmly grounded in reality this time so that when – not if – he disappointed my hopes, I wouldn't crash so heavily.

Frank's way of getting me to perk up and be happy about the opportunity was his telling me that he was sick of seeing me moping and that he didn't know how much longer tearstains on his robes would be in fashion. I'd punched him in the arm, and he'd given me one of those warmth-radiating friendship hugs that I could never do without for long. I swear, sometimes he's what keeps me going when I get myself all depressed. He just hugs me and makes a joke about it a couple days later; poof, everything's better.

Mary too had been a huge help, in her own way that is. Both she and Sirius had decided that Jacob was really planning a tryst and simply hadn't let me in on the plan because it was a surprise. Therefore, every time I saw Sirius in the hall and Friday, the library, or herbology came up, he began firing sexual innuendoes faster than I could change the subject, the git. Mary wasn't using exactly the same tactics; she was more in Lily's area of expertise. She was merely optimistic – and verbally upfront about it – that Jacob was really planning a secluded snogging session and had known that the surefire way to get me to come was to ask for help on his herbology homework. Far from being offended as I should have been, I just laughed at the two of them since I knew Jacob wouldn't lie like that. Plus, I'd never heard any stories about him like I'd heard about Sirius; so in my mind, that absence of evidence meant case closed. Mary and Sirius, though, as I mentioned had been a big help; they were part of what kept me rooted in reality. Their ridiculous ideas also acted as comic relief in a way, and I let them sluff off my nervousness with their antics.

Consequently, I sat in the plush red arm chair checking my pocketwatch – actually my grandmother's – every two seconds as I watched Frank and Remus play wizard's chess. Despite Mary's earlier convictions of leaving Remus alone this year, she was present and near him though she said nothing. Of course, she was quite good at wizard's chess having played the muggle version avidly before she'd ever become a real witch.

I pulled the battered but ornate watch out of the pocket of my robes yet again and heard Frank snort loudly.

"What?" I asked indignantly as I flipped open the cover of the device.

"Nothing," Frank murmured as he turned his attention back to the board as Remus' remaining knight dragged one of his pawns off the board.

I opened my mouth to enquire further but Mary interrupted me.

"Just go already, Alice." I opened my mouth again to try and defend my tactic of delay. "Stop being so silly and go."

I huffed, and Mary rolled her eyes. I knew she was right, but was there anything wrong with allowing me my nervous time?

"It'll be fine," Lily reassured me as she came down the staircase, a pack of exploding snap in her hands.

"Yeah," I heard Sirius clearly from across the room as he turned away from James. He would shout to get in on a conversation. "Nothing to worry about if it's just studying, eh?" I could hear him snicker before he continued his previous conversation. Way to be insensitive, Sirius, I thought to myself. Way to go.

Since I wasn't exactly garnering great amounts of support, I picked up my school bag from the floor beside the chair and made my way to the portrait hole. My nervous butterflies were having too much fun in my stomach, and as I looked back into the common room while backing out of the entrance, I sought out Frank's face. He rewarded me with a smile and a wink before he shooed me with his free hand. I sighed dramatically at him and walked into the corridor.

* * *

"Hey Alice!"

I smiled, Jacob had caught me before we'd even made it to the library, for which I was extremely grateful. I really hadn't fancied the idea of waiting for him; it would have been even more nerve wracking. Or what if he'd shown up before I had? I'd have felt guilty and late. I couldn't believe it: how was it that I could make everything so complicated?

"Hi Jacob." I hoisted my bag higher up on my shoulder so that my hands would have something else to do other than fidget with loose threads in the cuffs of my robes. "Glad it's the weekend?"

"Yeah, definitely."

He flashed me a grin, and I felt like my returning smile was probably all quivery since my lips felt like mush. He held the door to the library for me and I felt like giggling at his chivalrous behavior. I must have let out some sort of laughter because Madam Pince threw me one of those looks. The kind that said, if you're going to be an idiot get out of my library. She is so possessive and honestly worse than any of the muggle librarians I've ever met.

"So," I whispered once Jacob and I had made it to a secluded table surrounded by numerous huge book cases. "Where exactly do you want to start?"

Ok, so I wanted to smack myself for that. I had this boy – this gorgeous gentleman – in a hidden portion of the library, and I wasn't making any attempts to delay the real reason we were here? Call me overly realistic, I know I am. I know that he wants to work on his stupid essay, and I have no illusions about it unlike what I'd been starting to let Lily make me believe. I'm not about to make any attempt to assault Jacob Bones for a full on snog fest in the stacks. A) He doesn't strike me as that type of bloke, though I wouldn't exactly know would I? B) He didn't ask me here to snog. He asked for help on his herbology essay.

I was really starting to hate herbology.

Curse Professor Wilton.

"Um, well, I really don't understand all of the properties of the…"

Half an hour later I had stopped listening to what Jacob was saying. Somehow I managed to give him adequate responses, which evidently came from my subconscious herbology mind because loud silences punctuated only by the scratching of his quill on parchment followed my mindless statements. Needless to say, I hadn't gotten much work done myself, something I would undoubtedly pay for tomorrow. I could always do it with Lily I supposed. She wouldn't have done it yet at least.

"…Alice."

My chin almost dropped off the heel of my hand when he said my name. For a good while I'd really just been listening to the intonation of his voice and thinking how nice it sounded – like a cool breeze, no that was too breathy. Maybe like cool stream water then. It was certainly flowing enough. But then, his voice saying my name was just ten times better.

"Huh?" Real eloquent, Alice, real eloquent.

"I'm sorry."

Now I was really confused, I had to admit.

"Sorry?"

"Yeah."

"No I meant, what?"

"Oh."

I waited.

"Well…"

I'll admit, as cute as he look when he was fidgeting he was starting to get on my nerves as he held out on me longer and longer.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh."

I looked around us as if one of the books would pipe up with the answer to my unspoken question. None of them did.

"Um, about what exactly, Jacob?"

"Well, I didn't really need help on my herbology essay."

It took me a minute to process the information he had just thrown at me. What did he mean, he hadn't needed help on his herbology essay? I thought that was what we were in here for. Wait, what was going on?

My brain felt like it was taking longer than usual to process the information he'd thrown at me. The sluggishness continued as I blinked at him, wide-eyed. I was starting to wish that there was some way Lily could be here inside my head so that she could help me sort this out, because ever since that sentence had come out of his mouth, my brain had turned into one big mess. Random words were flying through it like birds caught in a room and wanted out.

Trick?

No.

Hogsmeade?

What?

Like?

Maybe.

Cute?

Yes he is.

Herbology?

No.

Essay?

No.

Sorry?

Why?

Angry?

No.

Happy?

Maybe.

Peeved?

Not sure.

Confused?

Heck, yeah.

Jacob must have taken my prolonged and shocked silence for rejection and anger because he broke the quiet before my brain could stop going in circles.

"Look I'm really, really sorry, Alice. But I wanted a chance to talk to you alone, you know? And you're always with Frank or Lily or Mary or someone. And I figured the best way to get you on your own was to ask you to help me with my herbology essay. I guess that was particularly awful of me because I really had most of it written anyhow…"

He trailed off uncertainly, and I stared at him as my mind came to a sudden halt.

"You already had most of it written?" I asked breathlessly.

He nodded sheepishly, and his golden hair fell forward onto his forehead.

"Are you angry?"

I grinned. I felt a sudden rising of strength and courage in my bloodstream and the butterflies had died to an extreme minimum in my stomach.

I leaned forward purposefully.

I could see Jacob gulp.

"Yes," I stated firmly. Before he could run away, which is what he looked like he was about to do, I continued. "I mean really, we just wasted a good thirty minutes talking about herbology for crying out loud. Now we only have an hour and a half until curfew!"

He grinned at me in response, and my heart did a flip-flop.

* * *

I was beaming like a full-blown idiot an hour and a half later as I told the fat lady the password (venomous tentacula) and waited for her to open. Surprisingly, Frank was the only one of my year 

mates in the common room. He lay lounging on the sofa, a battered book clutched in his right hand, the other behind his head.

"Where is everybody?" I asked him disappointed as I approached the couch. I mean, I had my first actual boyfriend and I wanted to spread the joyous news. Frank set the book on the floor and moved his legs so I could collapse on the other end.

"James is off threatening Patrick O'Henry for hitting on Lily, and of course Sirius is helping him. Remus went to bed early and I don't really know about Peter to be honest," he muttered as he scanned the room not seeing Peter anywhere around. "As for the girls, I don't know. They disappeared a while ago." He looked me and smiled.

Butterflies erupted in my stomach. Just what was going on?

"How was your study session with Jacob Bones?"

I grinned. I was so glad he asked. I was just dying to tell somebody. But now that it came down to it, I wasn't sure how I felt about telling Frank. I probably would have just been more comfortable telling Lily. I mean, she's a girl. She understands these things. Though, I had no clue why I should feel weird about telling Frank. I mean, he's my best friend, right? I can say anything to him. So, I threw my worries away and smirked more widely.

"We discussed things other than school work," I replied mysteriously.

Frank sat up so fast I nearly fell off the couch.

"Gracious, Frank!"

"What?"

"Relax," I replied, trying to sound soothing. "We didn't snog or anything."

"Oh," he said, settling back into the red cushions. "Good."

"Good?" I was shocked. "What exactly is your problem, Frank? All that happened was his expressing an interest in me and my reciprocating without our lips touching. What's the big deal? Can't you be happy that I'm not moping anymore?"

I was going to get tearful if he wasn't careful.

Frank sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. I thought I heard scratchy sounds as his hands passed over his brownish five o'clock shadow.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I guess I'm just out of it. I am happy for you." He looked at me and stuck out his tongue. The childish gesture made me smile. "So," he continued flippantly. "What exactly _did _you talk about?"

I felt like hugging him. The feeling was so overwhelming I was hard-pressed not to. Of course there was nothing wrong with hugging, was there? All the same, the action seemed like it would be unbearably awkward just then. Maybe it had something to do with the way my skin seemed to prickle whenever he touched it. So instead, I wrapped my arms around my knees.

"We talked about our favorite quidditch teams, and he told me about his and Amelia's holiday last summer. They went to Denmark and Norway and Sweden!"

"Wouldn't that be cold?"

I grinned.

"That's what I said. I told him I'd love to go to Greece or someplace warm like that. And then he said it was a shame I didn't like the cold…."

I paused for Frank to interject but he waited like I had known he would, his face sincere and inquisitive.

"And I asked him why he'd say that and he said that he had been planning on asking me to Hogsmeade, but that he thought that it might be too cold."

I was pretty much bouncing up and down on my seat. I had to admit that I felt pretty ridiculous, I'm sure I must have looked it too, but I didn't care. All I really wanted to see was Frank's reaction.

And what I got wasn't much of one. He gulped and arranged his face into a smile. Or what I assumed he had meant to be a smile although it came out more as a grimace.

"That's great, Alice!"

I was about to ask him what was wrong when Lily and Mary came barreling down the stairs. Well, Mary came barreling down the stairs, Lily tripped lightly along behind her.

"Did you snog?" and "Did he ask you out?" rang from the two girls lips. As I answered their questions, I was vaguely aware of Frank slipping up the stairs to his dorm, taking most of the warmth in the room with him.

**You like? Just let me know what you think of what's happening. I'm thinking of making this pretty short but I haven't made up my mind. And I'm thinking of making an epilogue.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am not J. K. Rowling. Blah blah blah, cannot claim her plot lines, characters, etc.**

**I think Jacob Bones is worrying you guys! Don't worry, I don't like angst, so it won't be really bad.**

News spread throughout Hogwarts quickly enough.

I had my first boyfriend, and his name was Jacob Bones.

The whispers didn't really phase me; I just smiled constantly now because that's what I felt like doing. I mean, I didn't really care what they were saying because I was happy. Why would I care when I got to be walked to class by someone resembling a Greek God? When he held my hand, everything seemed to be muted a little, like someone had stuck cotton in my ears. And when he kissed my cheek – so okay, we hadn't snogged yet, even though we'd been going out for two weeks – my skin tingled.

Of course, there was the downside of Amelia Bones's being his sister.

Like I said earlier, Amelia is a great girl and an excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts student like her brother. She's probably one of the bravest Hufflepuffs I've ever met, which I guess is saying something; she once told me the hat had considered putting her in Gryffindor but that it changed its mind.

And I found out why the second week Jacob and I were dating.

She is extremely loyal.

A sixth year to my seventh year, she marched right up to me after dinner the Friday before the Hogsmeade weekend. We weren't talking more than usual now that I was dating her brother so I wasn't quite sure what to make of her presence. So okay, we were sort of friends. I mean, she's really nice and we've talked a couple of times in the hall or in the library. She's really a helpful study partner too, especially with History of Magic. I have absolutely no clue how she manages to remember all of those Wizengamot Court decisions and war dates and stuff. Anyway, none of this was helping me figure out just why she was coming over to talk to me after dinner.

"Hey Alice," she beamed at me. She's also a pretty happy person. With straight blonde hair, like her brother's, she and Jacob would look exactly alike if she wasn't a little rounder than him. Where he was fit and muscular, Amelia was pleasantly plump to put it nicely. Not that that changed much. I still liked her. I also got the feeling sometimes that she was older than Jacob; but then, girls mature faster than boys, don't they.

"Hi Amelia," I replied as I shifted in my seat. "What's up?"

Her gaze flickered for a moment to Frank, who I had been joking with before she had come over. He smiled back at Amelia and pointedly moved down the bench about five seats so that he was now talking with the marauders. I had to admit I was pretty confused, but I caught Frank's eye and mouthed "Thank you" anyway. What on earth would Amelia want to talk about that she couldn't say in front of my best friend.

Before I could ask any questions, Amelia plopped herself down on the bench and fixed me with an intense gaze.

I honestly felt like something bad was coming, and I wanted to gulp. But why should I be afraid of Amelia? That is despite the fact that she can be an excellent dueler if she wants to be.

"So, Alice," she began cordially enough. "I wanted to talk to you about my brother."

Well, I certainly hadn't seen that coming. Weren't guys usually the ones who talked to their sisters' boyfriends? The whole deal was backwards.

"Jacob?" I tried not to squeak as I served myself some dessert as a means of distraction. Really, Amelia was starting to get to my head. What on earth was wrong with me?

"Yeah, Jacob Bones, my brother," she reiterated.

"Oookay," I prompted, trying to sound nonchalant as possible.

"I don't want him to get hurt, Alice." I realized she was dead serious as she looked me in the eye steadily.

I gaped at her and then started to laugh.

"Excuse me, Amelia?" I managed to choke out between my fits of giggling. "You don't want _him_ to get hurt? No offense, but I'm not exactly his first girlfriend!" This was true. Jacob had already been through a couple girls during his time at Hogwarts. "I'm not trying to sound self-centered here," and I really wasn't, the irony was too funny though. "But shouldn't my friends be more worried about _me_ getting hurt by _him_?"

Amelia simply stared at me, her intense gaze never wavering.

I let my laughter die as I fixed her with my own questioning look.

"Why on earth are you worried about _me_ hurting _him_, Amelia?" I almost giggled again, but kept it in this time in the face of Amelia's directness. I mean, she was obviously worried, otherwise she wouldn't have said anything. But why was she? I have to say, most of the time people are always telling me I'm a little too nice. That's probably just because I don't have a temper like Lily has, and we're year mates. Comparisons always do warp perception.

"I don't think you'd _directly_ hurt Jacob, Alice," Amelia said, her voice softer now.

"But you think I'd hurt him _indirectly_?" I asked, my dessert forgotten on my plate.

Amelia shrugged.

Well, that was certainly enlightening. Thank you so much for making my love life easier, Amelia. Thanks a lot.

"How?" I whispered, still astonished.

Her steady gaze finally left my face to look at a point behind my shoulder. I turned around only to see Frank and the marauders laughing. Okay, so that was real clarifying once again.

"I'm not sure I follow, Amelia," I sighed as I turned back around to face her. Those brown orbs were once again fixed on my own.

"Well, the hat certainly did the right thing by not putting you in Ravenclaw," she muttered as she began to fidget for the first time.

"Yeah, alright, whatever."

"I'm worried about Frank, Alice!" She finally burst out, but not loud enough to draw attention, thank goodness.

I could feel my face contort into a mask of confusion.

"Right, oookay," I replied. "You're worried about Frank in the whole scheme of me getting your brother hurt. That makes a whole lot of sense, Amelia."

"You can be so dense, Alice."

"Yeah, you already mentioned that, thanks."

Amelia rolled her eyes.

"To be more specific, Alice, I'm worried about your feelings for Frank when your with Jacob."

Now that had me really confused.

"My f-feelings for Frank?" I stuttered. I was again trying to hide laughter. Or at least that's what I wanted to do most at the moment – laugh. And then there was that uncomfortable sensation in my stomach… "What feelings for Frank?" I asked more steadily this time.

Amelia glared at me like I was asking a stupid question about the Goblin Wars.

"Frank and I are just friends!" I finally exclaimed.

Amelia looked at me for a long, hard, searching moment and then sighed.

"You really believe that, don't you?" She asked wearily, as I was tiring her out.

"Well, yeah, we've been best mates since fifth year haven't we and nothing's happened." My voice rose on the last words.

"The problem is, Alice," Amelia continued, her voice lowering conspiratorially, "I think you both want something to happen."

My brain froze. My heart, however, began beating wildly as trickles of heat began running up and down my spine.

I took several deep breaths with my eyes closed. I wasn't even trying to sort everything out at this point. Right now I just wanted my brain to be normal again and my heart to stop racing for its life.

It took me a while to get control of my body again.

"All right, Amelia," I began. "Let's think this through. You are telling me," I paused as I sorted through the mess she had thrown at me, "that you think Frank and I are going to hurt Jacob because we'll randomly start snogging or something? _When_ I'm with Jacob?"

She nodded.

"That's just wrong," I told her bluntly. "Look, great talking to you Amelia, but I've got to go. If you're so worried, why don't you warn Jacob." With that parting message, I walked out of the hall as quickly as I could.

What on earth was Amelia Bones thinking? The girl must be absolutely daft! Frank and I didn't feel that way about each other! We never had! Okay, so there was the mutual crush in third year, but big deal. We got over it, didn't we? And then there was the holding hands thing. But she hadn't known about that. Or maybe she did… Either way, that was an accident. Besides, who says best friends can't hold hands if they are of the opposite sex. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

And why would I even do that Jacob? I wasn't a heartless tart after all. Plus, he was my dream guy – smart, good looking, nice, caring, friendly, a perfect gentleman. Okay, so he doesn't have the greatest sense of humor in the world, but he's still a pretty great guy. I get tingles when he touches me! Surely that means something. Maybe I should ask Lily and Mary…they should know.

Argh, this was all so complicated. I certainly hadn't bargained for this when I'd become Jacob Bones's girlfriend!

Suddenly, I realized I wasn't heading toward Gryffindor tower as I had been planning earlier. Instead, I was on the charms corridor. How odd. I slumped down against one of the suits of armor next to the window and leaned my head back.

What a mess.

I liked Jacob, I really did. But now that I thought about it, there really wasn't much to him.

Like Amelia, he can be described as "great, really." But what else? My mental list from earlier drifted back into my mind.

Smart. Yeah, his being smart was really great for me. I didn't really think I'd be able to deal with someone dumb for a boyfriend. We just wouldn't be on the same page.

Good looking. That's always a plus.

Nice. Yeah, that was great. He was always so considerate.

Caring. Mmm, maybe that was too much like nice. He was though. He'd ask about me.

Friendly. That was definitely good. He made a pretty good effort to get along with my friends, though I had to admit, Frank had been around less and less.

I wondered if this was how Frank felt when he was with Stella…

Perfect gentleman. What did that even mean? Wasn't that basically him being nice, caring, and friendly?

I supposed he was also pretty loyal, or he wouldn't have been put in Hufflepuff.

Then it hit me. We weren't different enough for this to work! Of course, the opposites attract theory wasn't playing out because Jacob and I were so alike. That is, except for the sense of humor… But was that difference enough? I didn't think so. Maybe Jacob and I were just going to end up like me and Frank. After all, Jacob hadn't kissed me or anything. And when I say kiss, I mean full-frontal snogging. Those pecks on the cheek goodnight don't count for anything. Our relationship was purely platonic at this point, and to be honest, I didn't see it going anywhere fast.

I couldn't decide if I hated Amelia or not. She'd ruined my first relationship but probably for the best.

"Alice? Alice!"

"Frank!" I yelped. I guess it was a little wrong in a way, but I couldn't wait to tell Frank. I mean, when you figure out something pretty important, isn't your best friend the person you want to tell first?

"Hey, you left your bag when you stormed out on Amelia."

I flushed slightly. Had I really stormed out on the poor girl?

"Oh thanks, Frank," I said as he handed the tote to me. My stomach bubbled when his calloused hand brushed against my palm. I shook my head, as if that would get rid of the reaction I couldn't explain. "Guess what?" I burst out before I could get any more confused.

"What?" He asked as we began walking toward the tower. He didn't sound too excited I noticed. He jammed his hands in his pockets as I watched him before speaking again.

"I'm breaking up with Jacob!" I nearly squealed the last statement. I felt awful that I was so excited, but maybe that was just another sign that we shouldn't be together. When I said the words, I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders. I grinned even wider at the reaction. Yes, Jacob and I should definitely not be dating.

Frank's reaction only reassured me.

His face broke into a tentative smile, and he sounded really interested for the first time.

"Really?"

"Yeah…" I breathed. It was such a relief.

"Why?"

"I dunno." He laughed then, and so did I. "Well, I do, but it's sort of a long list. And really confusing."

"I'll listen," he said, dropping his arm around my shoulders as mine wrapped around his waist comfortably. "Does it have anything to do with what Amelia was talking to you about?"

I told him as we chummily walked back to the tower, warmth radiating through me. Only when we got through the portrait hole and Frank drew away, did I feel chill and remember what else Amelia had said that upset me.

"Now all you have to do is tell, Jacob, eh?"

I smiled up at my best friend and felt the overwhelming urge to hug him so that we touched everywhere possible and never let go.

"Yeah…"

Surely Amelia couldn't be right about that as well…

**Hey guys, let me know what you think. **


	8. Chapter 8

**I am not J. K. Rowling. I do not own her plot lines, characters, etc.**

Surprisingly enough, Lily was being really supportive of my decision to break it off with Jacob Bones. Not that she isn't supportive normally, but I really rather thought she'd have taken Mary's side. Instead, she smiled widely and told me to follow my happiness, whatever that meant. As much as I didn't understand it, I appreciated her attitude all the same. Lily's a pretty valuable friend, not to mention great entertainment when Frank and I were trying to throw her and James together, which, I might add, worked.

Unlike Lily, Mary took the path I had expected her to take.

"You're ditching Jacob Bones?!" I could tell she wasn't mad when she screamed at me, but her shriek was still a little disconcerting.

"I really think 'ditching' is much too harsh a word, Mary," I'd muttered.

"But he's absolutely gorgeous and incredibly sweet, and you're going to break up with him?" I have to admit that Mary's face was priceless. Her nose was wrinkled up like she was revolted while her mouth just hung there.

"Well, yes." What else was I supposed to say? No, Mary, I was just kidding. April fools?

I love Mary dearly. She's such a fun loving girl, and she's a great friend, like Lily. Sometimes though, we just aren't on the same page. She's just the teensiest bit shallow. One time she told me she wouldn't date John Midgen because he had terrible acne and a squeaky voice. So okay, I'll admit, I may have been reluctant too, but the difference between me and Mary is that she's just much more upfront about stuff like that; I might think it, but I don't blurt it out on impulse. Of course, Mary doesn't ever say things to people's faces, and she doesn't say things that are super hurtful or gossipy or anything. She just, um, speaks her mind? And on this issue, I'd expected Lily to do the same, because on the surface, Mary was right. Who in their right minds would break up with her sweet, handsome, seemingly near perfect boyfriend?

Mary was looking at me like I was crazy.

I would have agreed with her, except that it felt right somehow – not being tied to Jacob. Maybe I just have commitment issues…

Finally Mary jerked her mouth closed and tucked her hair behind her ears industriously.

"Okay, Alice, why are you breaking up with Prince Charming?"

"Give her a break, Mary." Lily rolled her eyes and went to sit down on the couch. "Alice can make her own decisions."

Mary stuck her tongue out at Lily in a fit of childishness before turning back to me, an apologetic, puppy-dog look on her face already.

"I'm sorry, Alice…"

I sighed. Did I mention that my friends think I'm too nice sometimes? Well, I'm not. I just forgive people easily because there usually isn't that much to forgive.

"It's fine." I smiled at Mary encouragingly.

"Great!" Mary could be so dramatic sometimes. "So, I'm going to support you in your decision since you would do that for me, right?"

"Of course…"

There was bound to be a catch.

"So! All you have to do now is tell me why you're breaking up with him!"

Why I didn't see that coming, I don't know. Of course Mary would still want to know. I mean, I guess I owed them that much.

But how did I explain it? I could just tell them what I told Frank: what Amelia and I talked about. I felt like if I did that I wouldn't be telling the whole story though, because, as I had done with Frank, I would probably leave the bit about him out. I suppose I could tell them the whole story though. They were girls, and it wasn't like Amelia Bones had said she was worried about me getting together with one of them over Jacob, had she?

There _were_ a couple of other reasons I was breaking up with Jacob.

First of all, and I know this sounds pretty shallow, but the boy really has problems with humor. We just can't have a proper conversation. He's so serious and intense about everything. I guess I understand that. I mean, my generation has grown up with a war going on. That does things to you. But I think for that reason it's essential to have a sense of humor. And no, that balance of humor and no humor does not count toward the opposites attract theory. How are two people like that supposed to fill each other out?

Secondly, he may be gorgeous and sweet, but because of the former, he's pretty boring. I mean, we don't really have meaningful conversations. Anything we do talk about feels like busy work, like the filler essays Professor Binns always burdens us with. Three essays a week? Get real. I don't think he even reads them all.

Thirdly, I just, oh Godrick, how do I put this? I just don't feel…_right_ around him. I guess that's hard to explain without it sounding completely corny. I'm just saying. When I'm around him, I feel pleasant, but I get the feeling that we're really just friends. That's all we'll ever be because he just doesn't attract me that way.

You know, I think I just figured something out.

I never really fancied Jacob Bones. Okay, so maybe I did before I got to know him. My point is that I fancied that idea of having him for a boyfriend, or just the idea of having a boyfriend period. That prospect is very attractive to a seventh year that's never had a real boyfriend, trust me.

And as for the whole Frank thing Amelia was going on about, I'm not quite sure how to react to that.

"Sorry?" Mary was looking at me funnily again, and even Lily, who had been watching James and Sirius talk, was suddenly staring at me, a gleam in her eye that I didn't quite recognize.

"Huh?" I was completely flabbergasted.

"What did you just say?" Mary whispered, a grin growing on her face. She lifted a hand to try and smother it.

"Nothing?" I answered, uncertain myself.

Then Lily stood up, and gesturing to Mary, said goodnight to our year mates and went upstairs. Mary and I followed. Slung around my shoulder, Mary's arm propelled me forward.

When the door to our room closed behind us, Lily and Mary sat down on the foot of my bead and waited.

I had forgotten what I was supposed to be telling them.

"Um, why are we up here?"

"Is there something you'd like to share, Alice," was all Lily asked.

And share I did.

Everything.

* * *

"You can do it."

"Yeah, no sweat, Alice. Just remember what you told us."

"Get out there and reveal your inner Gryffindor!"

"Shhh, Mary, people are looking at us!"

"Sorry…"

"Are you going to be okay, Alice?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Lily. Like you said, no sweat."

Yeah right. I was sweating pretty profusely for something I had been excited about doing last night.

"Do – do you think he'll be okay with it?"

"Well, how should we know?"

"Mary!"

"What? It's the truth! We don't talk to him that much."

"Yes, but we need to be encouraging."

"We also need to be truthful, Lily! Friends always tell each other the truth."

"Right now, guys, maybe you should just lie to me so I don't lose my nerve."

"Oh, ok." Mary scrunched up her face in concentration. "He'll be totally fine with it, Alice. He'll be completely understanding."

Lily nodded minutely.

"Thanks."

I took a deep breath and got up from my seat between Mary and Lily and began walking toward the Hufflepuff table. It was Saturday morning and Jacob was having breakfast with some of his friends in Hufflepuff. As I passed the Ravenclaw table, I looked back to see my friends giving me the thumbs up; Frank smiled encouragingly. I hadn't told him I was breaking up with Jacob this morning but after what I'd told him last night, I was pretty sure he knew what I was up to. I turned back around and walked more firmly toward my goal.

"Hey Jacob."

"Hey babe."

There's yet another thing about Jacob I dislike. I hate being called babe. Yech! It sounds so stupid and patronizing. Plus we've been together two weeks, we haven't even snogged, and he's calling me babe? There's just something wrong with that.

"I'll talk to you later guys."

"See you later, yeah, Jacob?"

"Yeah."

I breathed a sigh of relief. That was one less thing for me to worry about. I had been agonizing over asking him for a private word in front of his friends. Wouldn't they figure out what was going on?

Jacob got up from the bench and draped his arm around my waist. It felt like a burden or a steel vice compared to the easy camaraderie Frank and I shared. He grinned down at me and I smiled tentatively back.

As soon as we were out of the Great Hall, I attempted to find my voice before he did.

I lost.

"So, what do you want to do today, Alice?"

Now, I have to do it now. Now or never, Alice. Now.

"Study?" I suggested

Stupid, stupid girl!! I am such coward. I felt like banging my head against a wall or crying.

"Really?"

Another question. I had to take the dive.

"Actually, Jacob, there's something I need to talk to you about."

I looked around to make sure there weren't a lot of by-standers. I wasn't too keen on having whatever was going to happen witnessed by half of the school.

"Yeah?"

"I don't think…"

Think? Was that the wrong word to use? Surely he would think I was waffling?

"Actually, I…"

What was my problem?

"See, I need to tell you…"

Before I could spit it out. Jacob leaned down and put his hand against my cheek.

"It's okay, Alice. Just take a deep breath, yeah, that's good. Now, tell me."

"We can't be more than friends!" I blurted. Jacob's hand dropped from my cheek like I had burned it.

For a moment he didn't say anything.

So I continued.

"See, Jacob, it's just that I've realized that I'm just leading you on! And I feel terrible about it! But I've finally realized that I don't like you like that…"

I trailed off weakly wringing my hands.

"Will you please say something, Jacob?"

He had been standing there, still as a statue, just staring at me with this haunted expression.

"I really like you, Alice."

I moaned.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I thought I liked you too. And I like you as a friend, but when you asked me out, I really wanted a boyfriend so I thought that that's how I liked you." I paused. "Does that make any sense?" I was worried that I'd gotten everything I was feeling so garbled up.

He didn't respond to my question. Instead, he asked his own.

"Is there someone else?"

"No," I automatically responded. But then, as he watched me as if he was waiting for a lie to show on my face, I wondered. Was there someone else? Were the feelings I'd been having around Frank lately more than friendly? I couldn't really know. I suspected as much, but I wasn't sure. And I didn't fancy this not-being-sure at all.

But I was completely sure about what I was doing right now. I knew that Jacob Bones and I didn't belong together.

His eyes were now trained on the floor, and I wondered vaguely if he was about to cry. He didn't seem like the type.

"Jacob?"

I was starting to get worried.

Finally, he spoke.

"I guess I saw it coming." His calm, self-assured words felt like punch in the gut. It was extremely similar to the feeling I had gotten when I had apologized to Peter for not noticing him once and he'd told me he was used to it. Peter's backhanded forgiving was evidently just as hurtful as my now ex-boyfriend's telling me he knew what I was going to do better than I had.

I decided to let it drop. It was no big deal I guess.

His eyes looked a little glassy.

I touched his arm uneasily.

"I'm so sorry." He shrugged at my words. "You're going to be fine."

His eyes shot back to my face.

"I _know_ I'm going to be fine, Alice. But what about you? Are you going to be okay?"

I stood there, flabbergasted.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I've been dealing with this for at least a couple of days." My eyebrows rose. "At least in my subconscious," he chuckled at my reaction; his flippancy was starting a war in my brain. Be raging mad or be happy that he's taking it so well... "So I'll be fine. I'm more worried about how you're handling this."

Tears began pricking at the back of my eyes. But contrary to my bodily functions I was quickly becoming irate. He was putting me on a humongous guilt trip and I hate it when people do that to me. Of course, I probably deserved it after what I put him through. That's where the tears were coming from: anger at him and at me.

I didn't say anything. I didn't trust myself to not open my mouth and scream at this boy who was ruining my original sense of relief.

"Oh, don't cry…" Jacob reached a hand out toward my cheek where a tear had escaped. Before he could touch it, my anger and incredulity got the better of me and I smacked his hand away.

Silent, we stood there for several tense moments before Jacob spoke again.

"Do you fancy Frank Longbottom?"

My eyes narrowed.

"Amelia warned me," he sighed in reply to my unspoken question. Right there I lost all gratefulness I had been secretly harboring toward the sturdy girl. "Do you?"

Finally, my lips became unglued, and I could taste the saltiness of the unnoticed tears Jacob's words and my conscience had brought.

"I'm not sure," I whispered and my heart broke.

"Well, just so you know, I'll be here for you, Alice, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on."

I nodded though I desperately wanted to slap him for making my day worse than I could have possibly imagined. So he thought I'd come back to him, did he? Crying no less!

Jacob reached out again and this time I couldn't summon the strength to push him away. He gave me a fleeting hug, pressed his lips to my hair, and left when I turned my face away.

Distractedly, I opened the first unlocked classroom door and stepped inside. I needed a place to collapse before Lily and Mary came to ask me how it went.

Snuffling, I gratefully sank into a chair in the back.

Jacob was making me doubt my decision.

Was I right to break up with him? Or was I just scared?

Did I like Frank? Or did I just know him better than I knew Jacob?

Was all of this worth breaking two hearts over?

_Was_ my heart broken?

Hoping I wouldn't make too much noise, I put my head on the desk and cried. My throat felt raw as tears gushed from my eyes and streamed down my cheeks. My nose began to feel stuffy, and my cheeks, hot.

I didn't know!

I didn't understand my own feelings and I wept for my lack of knowledge, Jacob's broken heart that was my fault, and my inability to have a love life. Was I abnormal?

As my sobs turned into dry heaves, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. I felt both heat and coolness course through me, but I knew only comfort in this embrace.

"It's okay, Alice," the voice soothed. "It will all be fine." Frank's familiar strong, firm, lovely voice washed over me like cleansing waters.

"Frank," I moaned and turned my head into his shoulder as his arms wound themselves around me more securely. "I don't understand anything."

He waited patiently for me to continue.

"I just, I just broke up with Jacob, Frank." I wanted him understand without my having to say more.

"I see," he murmured into my messed up hair as one of his hands stroked the tangled locks.

"And I felt just awful because he told me he'd known it would happen! And he asked me if I would be okay!" My voice was strangled as I spoke into Frank's robes. "And he – he asked – he asked if I – if I…" I stuttered over my own words as I realized the enormity of what I was saying and who I was talking to.

"He didn't ask if you'd reconsider did he?" Frank's voice vibrated throughout my body.

"No," I chuckled faintly.

"Oh, nothing bad I hope?" He continued to hold me as he knew I needed it, but I sensed he also guessed I needed a little comic relief when his voice got a shade lighter.

"No," I said seriously. "Nothing bad."

A moment passed before Frank pulled away from me a little to conjure a handkerchief with his wand and hand it to me.

"Thanks," I muttered wetly and wiped my eyes. "Do you think I look stupid and awful?" I asked as I ran a hand through my hair, which had gotten out of order in my fit of crying.

"No," he replied, as serious as I had been a moment ago, and put his hand on top of the one still in my hair. "I think you look beautiful."

My brain went into overdrive as my senses became overloaded with all of the nerves in my hot hand turning so sensitive to Frank's cool palm and fingertips.

"I know that this isn't the ideal time, Alice, but I need to tell you before I lose the chance again." All of my attention was now riveted on Frank and his words. "I know we decided to be just friends and I know we're best mates and all but I want another shot with you…with us, because you're the girl I love to be around and the one I enjoy laughing with and when you realize you love, I mean like your best friend, you have to tell her how you feel before she finds some other git to snog and laugh with and spend time with."

I looked at Frank's face and his sincerity overwhelmed me. His hazel eyes bore into mine and his brown hair flopped down in front of them. As I looked, I felt the overwhelming urge to press every part of me up against him.

I smiled confidently.

"You know, Frank, Jacob asked me if I fancied you…"

I leaned closer to him and he dropped his hand and reciprocated so that my lips were near his ear.

"And what did you say, Alice?" I shivered as his words blew against my neck.

"I told him I didn't know." I could feel Frank stiffen beside me and quickly continued. "I wasn't sure, Frank. But now I am."

"So," his breath tickled me again. "Do you fancy me?"

"Yeah, Frank," I took a deep breath. "I might even love you, you know."

He drew back sharply before he took my face in his hands and kissed me.

His lips were firm and warm as they moved against mine. It felt so right, and just as I had told him moments before, I was completely sure.

Eventually he drew away.

"I think I love you too, Alice."

I smiled against his lips and wrapped my arms around his waist, just where I wanted them to be from here on out.

**As always, thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think. There will be another chapter or so I think. Opinions on that would be great.**


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